Field of Invention
Many articles are manufactured through molding processes. Several different molding processes are available when it is intended to manufacture a product with a hollow interior, and such molding operations would include blow molding, the use of a core within a mold, and other known methodologies.
Background of the Invention
When using a mold with an internal core, the core must be removed from within an interior region of the resultant molded product, and it is therefore known to employ cores that are frangible or are otherwise destroyed in order to remove the core from the interior region of the finished product. Destructible cores are typically employed when the finished product is relatively rigid and would prevent the removal of the core in an intact condition. However, if the finished product is relatively flexible, such as when the product is formed of a rubber-like polymeric compound, the finished product sometimes can be stretched or otherwise deformed to permit removal of the intact core. It is furthermore known, however, that the hot tear resistance and other elastic properties of polymeric materials are limited, and it is therefore understood that a product that is in a finished or semi-finished state can be deformed to at most only a limited extent before it tears or is otherwise destroyed. Improvements would there re be desirable in molding methodologies.